YMCA Denies Allegations of Molestation at Day Care

A YMCA official said Thursday there was “no merit” to allegations that a 6-year-old Laguna Niguel girl was sexually molested by three male classmates during an after-school program administered by the organization.

Arthur Wannlund, Orange County’s YMCA president, issued the response two days after the girl’s parents filed a lawsuit alleging that the organization and the Capistrano Unified School District were responsible for allowing the boys to fondle their daughter’s genitals and stuff a rock in her mouth.

“Nothing happened,” Wannlund said. “We investigated, the Sheriff’s Department investigated and child abuse [authorities] investigated. We found no merit to what the little girl was saying.”

The alleged incident occurred March 22 after school hours at George L. White Elementary in Laguna Niguel, where the YMCA has a contract to run a day-care program. According to the lawsuit, which was filed after sheriff’s and school authorities closed the case, three boys held the girl down on the ground, put a rock in her mouth and placed their fingers in her vagina.

The girl came home that day “without any underpants” and told her mother what happened, said Mark E. Roseman, the family’s attorney. The parents immediately called school authorities, who suspended the three boys during the two-week investigation, but have since accepted them back to the program, Wannlund said.

“After we received information from the Sheriff’s [Department] that there was no merit, we found no reason not to let them return,” Wannlund said. “Two are still there and the third is at another site.

“The girl’s parents pulled her out that day and she never returned,” he said.

All four were kindergartners and 5 years old at the time, authorities said. There were eight staffers on school grounds, none of whom witnessed the alleged incident, Wannlund said.

Lt. Ron Wilkerson, a sheriff’s spokesman, said Thursday the department cannot discuss the case because it involves juveniles.

An independent physical examination showed signs that the girl possibly was molested, Roseman said. The examination focused on her mouth, because of allegations about a rock being placed in it, and her genitals, he said.

“There were some abrasions in her mouth and she had a loose tooth,” Roseman said. “As far as a genital examination, they did find erythema [abnormal redness or irritation]. It was not conclusive as to whether she was molested, but there was some indication that there was consistency in what the girl was saying.”

The suit, seeking unspecified damages and filed in Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday, also contends that the boys and their parents are liable. A parent of one of the boys said that authorities had investigated the matter and determined “it was just little kids making stories.”